GREENVILLE, NC (AP) -- A former U.S. Marine who smuggled dozens of pistols into the United Kingdom is scheduled to be sentenced in a federal court in Greenville.

Steven Neal Greenoe pleaded guilty last year to exporting firearms from the United States without a license and traveling in foreign commerce to deal in firearms without a license.

Prosecutors say he brought 63 pistols in his checked luggage on flights to Britain, where he then sold them. In Britain, where few police officers regularly carry guns, the case has been a cause of significant concern.

Authorities said he disassembled the weapons and disguised them as engineering samples and inert weapons, then concealed them in his luggage.

Greenoe faces up to 30 years in prison.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Disclaimer: Comments posted on this, or any story are opinions of those people posting them, and not the views or opinions
of WWAY NewsChannel 3, its management or employees. You can view our comment policy here.